Art and Ventriloquism

This exciting collection of David Goldblatt's essays, available for the first time in one volume, uses the metaphor of ventriloquism to help understand a variety of art world phenomena. It examines how the vocal vacillation between ventriloquist and dummy works within the roles of artist, artwork and audience as a conveyance to the audience of the performer's intentions, emotions and beliefs through a created performative persona. Considering key works, including those of Nietzsche, Foucault, Socrates, Derrida, Cavell and Wittgenstein, Goldblatt examines how the authors use the framework of.;Cover; art and ventriloquism; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Table of Contents; Introduction; Preface; Acknowledgments; Critical commentary; Bergen and McCarthy: the logic of an act; Nietzsche and ventriloquism; Self-spacing: Foucault's ventriloqual tendencies; Socratic ventriloquism: theatricality and the voice of logos; The dislocation of the architectural self; Self-plagiarism: the ecstatic recycling of the artist's voice; Cavellian conversation and the life of art; Epilogue: two ventriloqual paintings; Notes; Index.